It is often said that the only way to have visible abs is to loose weight, and that is all well. My question is, does abs workout as such also reduce the fat around the waist or not? Are there abs workouts that do so particularly well? Thanks!

Youre asking if spot reduction of adipose through exercise is possible. I believe a study was conducted several years ago that demonstrated that YES: spot reduction is possible, but if I remember, the effect was negligible at best and the amount of work necessary to accomplish the mechanism was unreasonable and impractical.

In the case of enhancing the appearance of abs, I feel that diet with cardio is the most significant denominator.

Thanks to both replies. That's what I suspected, but it is always good to have things confirmed by people who know what they are talking about. Regarding the visibility of my abs, I am probably at the limit, and have reduced body fat to very little. So I guess from now on I'll have to focus on making them abs "big enough"!Cheers!

It is often said that the only way to have visible abs is to loose weight, and that is all well. My question is, does abs workout as such also reduce the fat around the waist or not? Are there abs workouts that do so particularly well? Thanks!

On this subject i remember speaking to Bill Pearl (on the phone). He said nature stores fat where you are least active, Bill Pearl told me he always did high reps. I know you can't spot reduce but i think Abs are 3 things for most of us...Diet,cardio.direct Ab training. using weight is a debate and i do not agree that you need it. Over the years i have tried it all and for me higher reps and CONCENTRATING on the Abs are more important than external poundages.

On this subject i remember speaking to Bill Pearl (on the phone). He said nature stores fat where you are least active, Bill Pearl told me he always did high reps. I know you can't spot reduce but i think Abs are 3 things for most of us...Diet,cardio.direct Ab training. using weight is a debate and i do not agree that you need it. Over the years i have tried it all and for me higher reps and CONCENTRATING on the Abs are more important than external poundages.

Keep in mind that abs are like every other muscle in the body..You must utilize a protein rich diet, with sufficient calories in order to build those ab muscles, then..It would be a good idea to be in a caloric surplus to build abs just like all muscles..also losing fat requires a caloric deficit..

Can doing things like crunches or general ab exercises widen the waist? Or is it just oblique exercises that do that? If im correct I think obliques are the one muscle bbers dont want to grow?

you will not get a wide waist with twisting crunches or unweighted side bends. It depends on your body type because i have known lean guys who did do weighted side bends and it did not make a wide look. If you have a lot of fat over your abs, forget the ab training until your bodyfat is lower because if you do have a lot of fat and build the abs then it will make it look bigger. stick to a good weight programme and they will be trained enough.

The diet makes the abs visible, training them makes them more muscular and more detailed.Spot reducing the fat doesen't work but doing abs workout like a cardio does reduce the fat overall, not only on the abs tho.

Don, would you mind sharing any other "Pearls" of wisdom? I have a great interest in 1960's-era bodybuilding, but I don't know much about Pearl. It would be great to hear some accounts from someone who communicated with him directly.

In fact, I don't know how much info you have on Bill or to what extent you interacted with him, but have you ever considered starting a thread on the History board?If you're interested, check out the Larry Scott and Vince Gironda threads over there. There are more than a few guys around these parts who would love to read up on anything you may have to offer!

well i phoned 3 times with Bill and we had great conversations. I can only write what he said. I have also had Bob Kennedy on the phone a couple of times and yes we spoke about Vince .. RIP Bob Kennedy. I phoned Bill in 2005 if i remember correct.

yes i was just looking around the History board. I will stay there for a while...lol yes i really liked Bill Pearl because he was very down to earth and he was very friendly and not at all arrogant like some guys now..the new "champs". His wife Judy was also really nice. I train at home and he told me he was just training in his Barn, his Home Gym. I said as a joke , "Bill i will come and train with you".. he just said .. "yes why not Don". I was unemployed at the time and he even said he would employ me if i was in the US ( no shit..itīs true) I was was going through a hard spell and he really was a great guy and we spoke about things.. He is a real Gentleman.

yes i was just looking around the History board. I will stay there for a while...lol yes i really liked Bill Pearl because he was very down to earth and he was very friendly and not at all arrogant like some guys now..the new "champs". His wife Judy was also really nice. I train at home and he told me he was just training in his Barn, his Home Gym. I said as a joke , "Bill i will come and train with you".. he just said .. "yes why not Don". I was unemployed at the time and he even said he would employ me if i was in the US ( no shit..itīs true) I was was going through a hard spell and he really was a great guy and we spoke about things.. He is a real Gentleman.